In Pictures: A New Show Explores Ancient Pompeii Dining Rituals, From Vermin Delicacies to Bone Toothpicks The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius interrupted Roman diners mid-meal—and this museum has the carbonized food to prove it. July 8, 2021 Polychrome mosaic panel with a marine scene, Roman, from Pompeii (100‒1 BC). Collection of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Photo by Carole Raddato, courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The lost city of Pompeii remains a source of fascination nearly 2,000 years after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 A.D. buried its streets in a blanket of fiery ash and froze them in time.